The Roads We Walked - The Fifth Pan-African Congress

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• IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUMS AND YOUNG IDENTITYTHE ROADS WE
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• THE ROADS WE WALKEDTHE FIFTH PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS LEGACY PROJECT To mark 80 years since the fifth meeting of the Pan-African Congress which was held in Manchester in 1945 - IWM have commissioned Young Identity, Manchester's acclaimed spoken- word poetry collective, to respond to the legacy and significance of the Congress. Through a series of creative writing workshops, the young poets explored the Congress's themes, voices and impact, crafting original pieces that speak to both history and the present moment. Their words form the script of a new Big Picture Show, a 360-degree immersive cinematic experience at IWM North, produced by Soup Collective, and are collected here in this zine.
• THE HISTORY OF THE FIFTHPAN- AFRICAN CONGRESS The Fifth Pan-African Congress, held at Chorlton-on-Medlock Town Hall in Manchester, UK in October 1945, was a landmark event in the struggle for decolonisation and African independence. It brought together a mix of intellectuals, activists, trade unionists, and students from Africa, the Caribbean and the African diaspora in Europe and North America.
• Page 5Part of a series of meetings intended to address the decolonisation of Africa from Western imperial powers, the Congress demanded an end to colonial rule and racial discrimination. Issues that were discussed included land in Africa being occupied by white settlers; inequalities in working conditions and wages for Africans; and independence for African and Caribbean nations. The Congress helped legitimise nationalist movements and give visibility to future leaders. Sessions were chaired by notable figures such as Amy Ashwood Garvey, Dr W. E. B. Du Bois and Jomo Kenyatta. Jomo Kenyatta went on to become president of Kenya, while Hastings Banda of Malawi and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana also later became leaders of their respective countries. There was also a growing call for gender equality, and women, such as Amy Garvey, played a strong role in highlighting the particular forms of exploitations faced by Black women.
• PAN-AFRICANISMPan-Africanism is a general term for various movements across Africa that have as their common goal the unity of Africans and the elimination of colonialism and white supremacy from the continent. Pan-Africanism as a philosophy has its origins in the struggles of African people against enslavement and colonisation. COUNTRIES WHO TOOK PART IN THE FIFTH PAN-AFRICAN CONGRESS
• Page 7Prominent Suffragettes Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst were born and raised in Manchester, and the fair-trade co-operative movement emerged in nearby Rochdale in 1844. Manchester continues its rich history of activism and protest into the present day, reflected in movements such as Black Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion, which have led major peaceful gatherings in the city.
• INTRODUCTIONThis project set out to revisit the Pan-African Congress and introduce its history to a new generation. For many of the Young Identity poets, this was the first time they had encountered the story of the 1945 Congress. Through workshops, archive research and creative writing, they produced new poetry that speaks directly to that legacy and brings it into the present. This work has been shaped and supported by many people. Reece Williams provided dramaturgy and workshops for the script, supported by Nasima Bee, who encouraged young people to think about activism and freedom.
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• CONTENTSIN PRAISE OF SELF-WORTH, A LETTER. by Abhijeet Singh
• Page 11WHAT MY HANDS HOLD. by Kyia Kulczycki Binnall
• IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUMS AND YOUNG IDENTITYIn Praise of Self-Worth, A Letter by Abhijeet Singh You will find my name with Du Bois, or find me (maybe) in Jazz history of London, but what you won't find is my due worth, you won't find a picture of me blessing my hair in sun on one of the beaches in Port Antonio, and so you won't know how I talk in anger, you won't see the heat flushing inside my cheek whenever I say freedom, you will find my name with Marcus Garvey, or as a co-founder of UNIA, but would you know I fought for that too?
• Social Betterment by David OkodehBelieve in peace. THE ROADS WE WALKED: THE FIFTH PAN AFRICAN CONGRESS
• IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUMS AND YOUNG IDENTITYThe 5th Pan-African Congress by Edmund Okyere-Yeboah It's Congress Day they gather around a large table, Kwame is sitting with his knees crossed, finger on jaw Dreaming of a world where Africa's freedom is not a fable.
• THE ROADS WE WALKED: THE FIFTH PAN AFRICAN CONGRESSIt's congress day they each speak of an age-old fable. They speak of what Africa was like before Colonisers came and made it unstable. It's the day before the Congress, they crooned to an understanding tune encourage each other to make sure they are able, To remove colonial paws, soon.
• by Aya OmerSomebody is the puppet master, and who are the players? How can you ask a man to play a game he has already lost? I see a bear and I see a butterfly
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• Itan Re- Her Story by Oluwatomisin Faheezal TaiwoIMPERIAL WAR MUSEUMS AND YOUNG IDENTITY They tell us they have nothing to apologise for, Like they forget how roughly they came upon our shores
• They touched, reached, dragged And she shivered and saggedWondering if they'd stop invading her If she waved the white flag.
• IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUMS AND YOUNG IDENTITYWhy even after centuries We are yet to hear her side of the story How bravely she fought her enemies Where are the tales of her unending glory
• THE ROADS WE WALKED: THE FIFTH PAN AFRICAN CONGRESSUnited, We Rise by Kaz Abbas Sometimes I wonder, 200 years ago, who would I be? I'd like to think I was one of those, the ones heard in hushed whispers round a kitchen table, the ones who said fuck you and did it anyway, a change maker, a flag waver, a person who fifty years later could say, 'I was part of the painting.' I brought down the wall, I sat round the wooden table, I scaled the ivory statue, I sang for freedom beneath a smog filled sky.
• What My Hands Hold by Kyia Kulczycki BinnallI hold my hands out for you to take The wind is gentle, peaceful still You tighten the shackles I wish you'd break
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• An Evening Story by Leyla BarakatAn evening story IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUMS AND YOUNG IDENTITY
• THE ROADS WE WALKED: THE FIFTH PAN AFRICAN CONGRESSI think my hunger feeds them. We collide with the colonisers
• IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUMS AND YOUNG IDENTITYThe Weight of Ink in the Belly of the Beast by Seth Connor-Fullwood "The basis of any independent government is a national language, and we can no longer continue aping our former colonisers. Those who feel they cannot do without language can as well pack up and go." - Jomo Kenyatta
• THE ROADS WE WALKED: THE FIFTH PAN AFRICAN CONGRESSOur destination is revealed, the way, the road, remains unclear. Turning over new leaves and words, new seasons, they will shame you.
• Page 28this is a coup by Shreya Mishra a sudden, violent, and unlawful seizure of power from a government. an instance of successfully achieving something difficult.
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• Working is a Movement by Louis RegisteIMPERIAL WAR MUSEUMS AND YOUNG IDENTITY When we work together we work towards.
• THE ROADS WE WALKED: THE FIFTH PAN AFRICAN CONGRESSNot Theirs To Hold by Davinia Isaac They will tell you power is found behind the altar, or at the feet of men. That history lives in leather bound books, locked behind glass - guarded by cold walls and colder hands.
• IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUMS AND YOUNG IDENTITYMount Kenya by Abhijeet Singh Jomo is as Black as the infinite incomprehension of the sunrise at Mount Kenya, and a raw, fruit like moment of a family praying to the tall and ever widening Mount Kenya.
• THE ROADS WE WALKED: THE FIFTH PAN AFRICAN CONGRESSThey all come alive coughing and kicking like a child in his long speeches, in his conversations with men and women. He cannot stop talking about this place, and his teeth are shining like the tusks of the elephant ivory, he has a way about him, and so does Mount Kenya.
• Page 34Is This Liberty? by Pelumi Fatayo
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• IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUMS AND YOUNG IDENTITYThey Played Chess in Manchester at the Fifth Pan- African Congress, 1945 by Shirley May
• The game was never just EnglandsIt was also their own. They were born of the sun, the savannah, and a holy grace.
• Page 38In 1945, one month after the war, Manchester became the board. Britain was bruised.
• THE ROADS WE WALKED: THE FIFTH PAN AFRICAN CONGRESSW. E. B. Du Bois watched the board. He chaired the match because he knew the game.
• Amy Jacques Garvey the otherQueen on the board Her pen, a bishop.
• THE ROADS WE WALKED: THE FIFTH PAN AFRICAN CONGRESSThe board was set. The pieces were human.
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSIMPERIAL WAR MUSEUMS AND YOUNG IDENTITY With thanks to the following organisations and individuals for their contribution to this project.
• Imperial War Museums in collaboration Young Identity© First Published 2025 THE ROADS WE WALKED: THE FIFTH PAN AFRICAN CONGRESS
• Page 44SOUP CO.